Duck! (Avian Shifters Book 1)

4.5 stars.

WARNING! For those who don’t like M/M stories, do not read this book! Apparently, since the descriptive allegedly isn’t that clear, be forewarned that this is the case. (Apparently, some readers took great offense that they had been duped. I would have figured that out just by the names themselves. I can understand their anger as I believe this book isn’t available on KU.) And there’s BDSM involved, too! If you have any qualms about social slavery, then don’t read it! (Sometimes, I wish readers wouldn’t insist on actual reality in their reading. This IS fictional, folks! We’re talking about alternative universes, pul-lease!)

I’m a sucker for shifter stories, but lately, I’m so bored with the usual wolf/bear/dragon shifters because they are all feeling the same old same old. Is there something different out there? Even a bunny shifter story would be a nice change of pace!

Imagine my surprise when I ran across Duck!, an avian shifter novel.

Avian shifters aren’t anything new to me… just few and far between. But compared to those I’ve already read, I was very impressed with the totality of this novel, enough to earn itself 4.5 stars from me on the first read.

Just as a warning to those who may not appreciate M/M literature, not only is it M/M but it’s also BDSM. What makes it different is that the BDSM isn’t just all about sex and domination because there is actually a storyline involved. Ori is the proverbial “ugly duckling”. He’s been in the hands of the humans’ social services, going from one foster home to another. He has no clue of his ancestry or his shifter species. He’s just months away from experiencing his first official shift which will now definitively reveal his shifter species. (He had been tested before the elders, but he was ruled as “inconclusive” as he didin’t do a total shift, and the preciding elder labeled him as a tentative “duck”.) There isn’t anything wrong in being a duck… unless you have aspirations of a higher position in life. Ducks are pretty much nearly at the bottom of the prestige pole, and since avian society is highly dependent on caste, well, that means he’ll probably be a servant, working in the kitchen or just plain housekeeping. But there’s another problem. It appears he’s been “rescued” from the human foster care system since he’s a newly discovered avian, but where to put him? Without a firm determination of his species, he really has no place to go… except a nest that is male gender only, not a species-specific breeding nest. Unfortunately, he’s now found himself as not only a housekeeping servant but a sexual servant to any and all who wishes for a quickie or to torment him (like the crows in the house).

Enter Reynard the Goshawk. As the species-specific caste system goes, he’s up there. Very few avian shifter species can demand his servitude (such as eagles). He’s in town on a more permanent basis as his uncle had recently died, and now his estate and status has been passed down to him now. (Please note that the proper term IS “passed”, not “past”! My pet peeve, folks!) When he enters the nest to pay his respects to the Council and the elders, he rescues Ori from being set upon by the crows and manages to get permission from Hamilton, the head of the nest, to allow Ori to be his servant until he comes of age.

Of course, Ori is relieved from being yet the target of the crow bullies, and now he has a chance to live away from the nest for he now resides with Reynard in the hawk’s uncle’s lodge which is sorely need of a full cleaning. The rest of the book becomes more of. a relationship story between Reynard and Ori, going from vanilla to full BDSM. But what shifter species is Ori?

Well, you know this is a rewriting of The Ugly Duckling so you must know what Ori’s avian shifting species is. But how does it affect him? What’s Reynard’s reaction? After all, caste is everything in avian shifter society. And this is only an example of this very interesting universe created by by Kim Dare, one that is truly unique to my recollection.

Ms. Dare has definitely spent a ton of time developing this new world of shifters living amongst humans yet separate from them. I just couldn’t get enough! The entire concept was quite solid in that I found little that annoyed me whilest I was reading this ducky tale. It provided the perfect environment for BDSM stories because of the caste system. I enjoyed the numerous species mentioned and which job occupations were assigned to them. I’ve never heard of a hummingbird shifter! And this particular one was from the Carribean and was the nest’s personal physician! Doves and pigeons and ducks and wrens… My oh my! What diversity! It kept me wanting to go back and reread passages just to enjoy these species of servitude and how they interacted within the nest itself. I just can’t wait to experience further dives into this universe with subsequent novels in this series!

I enjoyed the characters Reynard and Ori and how their relationship developed over time. Poor Ori! Talk about a broken, young shifter who has absolutely no idea of who he is personally as well as shifter-wise. How can anyone function in this society without these important bits of information? Especially in a society in which species is everything! He’s broken in spirit and is a target to the bullies at the nest proper who lord over him, take sexual advantage of him, who enjoy physically and emotionally abusing him. He is in such desperate need of a master to protect him. And that’s where Reynard steps in. Ori’s sad situation as well as he himself triggers protective mechanisms within Reynard. Yes, the poor young shifter needs someone to protect him while time passes until he becomes an official adult (with a definitive species ident). Reynard needs someone who knows how to keep house and be his servant. But there’s something about Ori that convinces Reynard that he is a submissive — a natural submissive — that finds his way deep beneath his skin. Is it really love? Or is it just that connection between a master and his submissive? He himself doesn’t know (or refuses to admit that it could be love). He’ll need to be convince otherwise.

Their relationship is very complicated. I appreciate the fact that Ms. Dare preferred to spend time examining that rather than just use these extra pages for sex that eventually escalates into BDSM. Neither is this tale a primer for BDSM. (If I want that, I’ll get my own books on that, thank you very much!) I found both Ori’s and Reynard’s characters extremely sympathetic. (Even the rigid Hamilton was a very interesting character to get to know even though he was more of a two-dimensional player in this tale.) I appreciate how Ms. Dare presented Ori and Reynard as not-perfect characters. Each had their faults which were quite refreshing. It was great to see how their relationship changed once Ori came of age, and we all get a chance to see his true shifter species which was a swan. But that probably was the very last thing Ori could ever imagine being because the social status of a swan is much higher than that of a hawk, and how could Ori and Reynard continue their relationship if Reynard is now Ori’s inferior?? Good question! And that’s when this novel becomes very exciting!

This book is not perfect, though. This novel could have used a better editor and a few more read-throughs to catch all the errors that managed to sneak onboard. I also have this strange feeling that something’s missing that would have put this novel over the top, but for the life of me, I can’t tell you what that is.

Of course, there’s sex involved. I do appreciate the fact that Ms. Dare managed to mostly steer clear of gratuitous sex. Lately, I’ve become quite bored and annoyed with gratuitous sex to the point that I’m skimming through the sex, looking for substance rather than tapping material. But what did make this book special is the inclusion of incredible intimate episodes which is so difficult to pull off as an author. Kim Dare did a great job in this area.

I do highly recommend this story if you need something completely different to read involving shifters. There’s enough angst to be endearing yet not annoying. There is not just some great sex scene but intimacy scenes that makes this book special. I can’t wait to read the next in this series!